ascilite2015

In a design and technology education context, the use of SketchUp as a virtual environment has not
only enabled the visualisation of designs in a 3D form, but also in combination with other
geographical technologies such as Google Earth, to develop and model designs. A virtual 3D
modelling capability is cost effective as certain design problems can be modeled virtually with no
resources being used. In recent years, the reduction in the cost of 3D additive and subtractive
manufacturing technologies has enabled designers to take that next step in the design process and
realise their design prototypes and has made these technologies, such as 3D printers, very
accessible. This growing area of interest is again consistent with the NMC report’s predictions that
the use of technologies to facilitate innovation and creative skills through ‘Makerspace’ environments
are likely to gain greater traction within the coming year (Johnson et al., 2015).
Cross-institutional collaboration and open education resources
Collaboratively, Australian and New Zealand universities’ colleagues are exploring ways in which to
share resources. As the textbooks and curriculum of the New Zealand students are slightly different
from those in Australia, members are looking to re-purpose existing virtual resources for use with
other institutions’ materials, as well as make their pedagogical materials available for use.
Resources have been developed for creating, sharing and storing ‘learning objects’. This is in line
with NMCs long-term trend of increasing cross-institutional collaboration (Johnson et al., 2015, p. 2).
3D models off the rack are often purchased when possible. For construction, this is possible, but
much more difficult in specialised fields such as pharmaceutical science. Many members access
material in Second Life that has been created by other colleagues around the world. There is a vast
resource pool which is easy to find and use rather than resorting to continually creating new
artefacts. Using these tools makes it easier for students to understand the systems when they see
them in operation. Other members have created their own resources to share across various virtual
worlds. Often, the resources/objects/environments are completely self-contained, sometimes
including the use of Heads Up Display (HUD). Many objects purchased from other creators have
come with limited IP rights that are manifest in restrictive permissions assigned to 3D objects, raising
barriers to sharing. An alternative is to recreate each object from scratch to ensure that there are no
IP right issues, however this is labour intensive and inefficient. But, at the same time, this is the only
alternative in some cases.
Many members report that they are not sharing their simulation work even though general 3D virtual
spaces have been created from existing resources and many are utilising open and free objects
within Second Life to construct larger builds. Assets created within Second Life for clinical education
and role-playing spaces have, to some degree, been packed up and then reused for projects of
similar need. However this has proved difficult and inefficient. This is especially so when virtual land
has been unfunded or closed. Builds using open platforms (such as OpenSim) rather than in closed
eco systems (such as Second Life) allow packing of objects in inventory archive (IAR) files or whole
sims in OpenSim archive (OAR) files, which are then are placed online for others to download and
use. Increasing cross-institutional collaboration and extending sharing of resources and pedagogical
practices are similarly identified in the NMC report (Johnson et al., 2015) as global trends, which
pose significant challenges, hence the report’s prediction that achievement of such goals may still be
five or more years away. 3D scanned objects can be created for reuse; for example, authentic
spaces can recreate the shape and surface markings of an Egyptian tomb so that scanned objects
can be placed within it, providing further context for excavation techniques and object descriptions.
Teaching complex thinking and creative problem solving
The NMC 2015 report (Johnson et al., 2015) suggests that the teaching of complex thinking will
become increasingly important in the next two-three years. Although the NMC report describes
complex thinking as beyond creative problem solving and decision making, suggesting complex
thinking will require graduates who are able to manage ‘big data’ and be able to take advantage of
the latest tools and techniques to solve complex problems and influence systemic change, several
VWWG members report using 3D virtual and immersive environments to foster critical thinking,
creative problem solving and clinical decision making. Multiple sources of information such as
patient case history, blood test results, ECG, radiology information (such as MRI, CT or ultrasound
images, etc) are being used for clinical decision-making. Students make informed decisions by
selecting the correct objects in the right sequence. The clinical tutor is available to assess/challenge
student knowledge and understanding. Students are located all across the continent so the virtual
meeting space is ideal.
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